Placed on furlough for 2 months, how likely is it permanent?

[Bluesky00]

I was placed on furlough back in April, supposedly I go back to work next month. Last month when they called me to tell me that, the next week, I went back because I forgot my lunch bag and I noticed they kept at least 4 people from my department, I didn’t see my other coworkers though. My supervisor told me he was going to be in touch as soon as he could bring everyone back, I still haven’t heard from him. And I was going to give him a call next week. 

I noticed today that I’m expecting a letter from my company and it’s from HR. Now I’m worried. Why would HR send me a letter??? If they were going to permanently lay me off wouldn’t they give me a CALL? The mailman hasn’t arrive yet, what could this letter from HR be? 

[d0nnivain]

No they would not call.  It's very uncomfortable to fire somebody.  So they would probably do it by letter to save themselves the anguish.  Think of it as ghosting in a relationship -- easier on the dumper, hell on the dumpee.  

It could be a directive from the employer on the guidelines about coming back.   I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that this is what you will be receiving.  If it's not, or if you still feel on shaky ground, think about what else you might be able to do to earn money.  

Whether your employer's business survives will depend on re-opening, the virus itself & whether there is still a market for the product / service.   For example if between heat / AC, electricity, supplies, salaries, etc. it costs $1,000 per week to be open & fully operational, but the business will only make $800 per week if they re-open it's unlikely that the company will survive.  

[Bluesky00]

I shall wait and see then..

[Bluesky00]

I received the letter and it was some 401K plan documents! It’s a sign of relief at the moment, but on the other hand I’m still nervous if I’ll come back. Sure it’s only “furlough” but who knows if I’m going to be let go for good..

[Bluesky00]

Update: I just got another letter from HR today saying that my furlough was “extended until next month.” But the letter also stated that they called some people back into the office. I’m like wth? To add, my job isn’t necessary work from home, but they allowed like 2 people to work home just to do one task. But they didn’t bother asking me to work from home.

Does my situation sound bad, will I be fired? The nerve they stated, “good news, we called some ppl back to work.” Yeah, they called some ppl but not me.

[d0nnivain]

It sounds like they will still have a business to go back to.  It really all depends on whether they get the volume back.  They need to have work for you to do.  If they are not selling their product / services, they may not be able to rehire all the staff. 

[Bluesky00]

I guess I do understand that, but why did they specially choose certain people to go back to work?

[Ellener]

It's really difficult isn't it. I didn't even apply for unemployment for weeks as I was expecting things to progress faster, instead it's looking like my business is going to be permanently altered. Every time the nursing homes make any attempt to any kind of return to 'normal' there are new outbreaks.

Hang in there @Bluesky00 I had a few anxious days too but am now treating it as some downtime to enjoy as I know I will likely have to work twice as hard to re-invent my business or start a new one later this year...

3 hours ago, Bluesky00 said:

why did they specially choose certain people to go back to work?

Who knows, maybe even random, most places seem to have tried to retain a skeleton staff within their buildings here, even when the people are working from home or furloughed so they can get benefits.

 

[Bluesky00]

Well today, I decided to go to work and sit in the parking lot to see what coworkers from my shift came in. I saw at least 3 coworkers that seem that they have called back. This isn’t fair, now probably those 3 ppl were furloughed but it appears they were called back to work before the 60 days, but me, they straight up told me “oh 60 days don’t come in.” Seems like they made their mind they don’t want me coming to work for 2 months like set in stone and the nerve that extended my temp lay off for 3 more weeks?!? 

If they wanted to fired me wouldn’t they have done it by now? Do they think they are doing me a favor by collecting unemployment and sitting at home? I don’t think so, or are they giving me a hint to quit? Does this sound fishy to you? 

[Art_Critic]

Bluesky, it's all about the numbers.. just relax for now.. while nobody knows what the future holds they have been giving you positive signs that your furlough is coming to an end.

Do you happen to know if your company got any of the PPP loan money from the government ?

[d0nnivain]

None of your employer's behavior sounds fishy to me at all.  Their business is not a democracy.  Fairness does not enter into the equation.  As long as the owners don't discriminate against you because you are a member of a protected class, they are allowed to pick favorites.  The idea that you are complaining about "fairness" & that you showed up to see who they did call back is all the explanation I need to understand why you weren't called back.  There is something off -- outside the norm -- with you & that makes people uncomfortable. Your company doesn't think about doing you a favor letting you sit home.  Your company cares about it's bottom line & who is the best fit to improve their productivity.  You didn't fit that mold. 

If all of that bothers you, get another job but business is business.  It's not socialism.  It's not a popularity contest. But the person who signs your paycheck gets to do what they want.  It's their company.  

[Bluesky00]

47 minutes ago, d0nnivain said:

None of your employer's behavior sounds fishy to me at all.  Their business is not a democracy.  Fairness does not enter into the equation.  As long as the owners don't discriminate against you because you are a member of a protected class, they are allowed to pick favorites.  The idea that you are complaining about "fairness" & that you showed up to see who they did call back is all the explanation I need to understand why you weren't called back.  There is something off -- outside the norm -- with you & that makes people uncomfortable. Your company doesn't think about doing you a favor letting you sit home.  Your company cares about it's bottom line & who is the best fit to improve their productivity.  You didn't fit that mold. 

If all of that bothers you, get another job but business is business.  It's not socialism.  It's not a popularity contest. But the person who signs your paycheck gets to do what they want.  It's their company.  

Yeah, I was thinking it’s about “favorites.” My job depends how fast a worker is like productively, those 7 people that I currently saw go in to work  today have high productively and have been trained in all areas. I haven’t been trained in at least 2 areas and I’ve been there for a year. I noticed even ppl that have been there under a year have been trained in all areas except me. I’m not a “slow” worker. My productively is good I meet the goal, the others are way up with there numbers. Now if i don’t “fit their mold” I don’t get,  surely they wouldn’t have kept me there for a year, work was going good until this pandemic hit. There are at least 5 people including me that I didn’t see come in-so I’m assuming they are still laid off.

I don’t know, if my furlough is coming to an end, the letter they sent me yesterday said something like “oh if we are you furloughed past August 31, you will lose life insurance plans, etc.” who says that? Doesn’t sound very positive.

[d0nnivain]

Even if you are productive, they are more productive.  They can also do at least 2 things you can't.  It's about versatility.  It sounds like your employer simply picked the best employees.  Having only been there for 1 year, you have not achieved the other's superior level of competence yet.  Think about it from the company's perspective.  Why should they let you return & keep the worker who is more productive & can cover more areas sit home?  

They told you about the worst case scenario so you can start planning as soon as possible.  Better you should know that now then on Aug 1, don't you think?  Now you can possibly look for a job or figure out where / how to budget.  In the US, you could bank your $600 super unemployment until it runs out in July.  But you have time to plan for yourself.  Your company is acting very responsibly.  

Edited May 21, 2020 by d0nnivain

[Bluesky00]

14 minutes ago, d0nnivain said:

Even if you are productive, they are more productive.  They can also do at least 2 things you can't.  It's about versatility.  It sounds like your employer simply picked the best employees.  Having only been there for 1 year, you have not achieved the other's superior level of competence yet.  Think about it from the company's perspective.  Why should they let you return & keep the worker who is more productive & can cover more areas sit home?  

They told you about the worst case scenario so you can start planning as soon as possible.  Better you should know that now then on Aug 1, don't you think?  Now you can possibly look for a job or figure out where / how to budget.  In the US, you could bank your $600 super unemployment until it runs out in July.  But you have time to plan for yourself.  Your company is acting very responsibly.  

I mean, I know it’s about “numbers” or what not. But why would have they kept me there for a year? And before corona came my supervisor told me I was going to get trained in a new area, so things were looking good. 

So they are using this pandemic as an excuse to get rid of me??? The whole “low volumes of work due to covid” seems bull. People are going back. To work and the economy is reopening so there should be work. To add I work at a laboratory so it’s considered essential.

Even if I did try to find something else what companies are even hiring? From what I read, it’s going to be hard to get a job now. Unless I work at some grocery store, but I’m not working with the public due because I don’t want to get sick

[elaine567]

What about social distancing?
Is your lab capable of providing a safe working environment for everyone that previously worked there?
 

[Bluesky00]

Well I don’t necessarily work in the lab department I work outside the lab. It’s a laboratory company I meant to say.

[Ellener]

I think we're all feeling the same anxiety one way or another @Bluesky00 Don't take it personally.

[Bluesky00]

Should I wait until the first week of July to look for a new job? I want to still collect unemployment because who knows how long it will take me to find a job just in case they don’t ever call me to go back to work. Because if I just happen to find a new job next month (highly doubt it) then my unemployment will end.

[Ruby Slippers]

From what I've seen, a high percentage of furloughed workers won't be reinstated in their former positions anytime soon. It's brutal and unfair, but that's the way it is.

If I were in your position, I'd collect and save all the unemployment benefits I could, instate a household spending freeze on anything other than essentials, negotiate a pause in rent/mortgage payments, cancel any subscriptions or memberships possible, and absolutely start looking for alternative employment today.

[Bluesky00]

Yeah, I might as well start looking if there’s anything to find right now. If this pandemic haven’t had happen I wouldn’t have been in this position !

 

 

[Ellener]

I've signed up to 'Indeed' to see what's going, my business may well be impossible as it was for the forseeable future...

It's all quite anxiety-provoking I know. I have good days where I decide to relax and enjoy the time off, and bad days when I feel sadness at almost twenty years personal investment and work I love changing or coming to an end.

 

[Bluesky00]

Would LinkedIn be a good place to find something? I don’t have a profile on there 

[Bluesky00]

Would it be a bad idea to even call my supervisor and ask how much work the department is getting? When my supervisor and the manager  first called me about the furlough back in April she said that I could call and ask about the work volume. It’s kind of like I don’t want to call because I know they don’t want me back yet or they don’t want me at all, so it would be degrading to even call and ask ? 

[Ruby Slippers]

It wouldn't hurt to make a check-in call and remind them you're available.

LinkedIn is a great job networking platform. It's led me to many open doors and is vital when hiring. 

[Ellener]

On 5/21/2020 at 2:27 PM, Bluesky00 said:

Would LinkedIn be a good place to find something? I don’t have a profile on there 

I have jobs delivered to my inbox via Indeed, I'm not signed up with a hiring profile there I just wanted to know what's out there, and what businesses are doing ok.